Caste System
The Gem Homeworld maintains a strict caste system with every type of gemstone having a predetermined role and place in the social pyramid, each with own their privileges and ordained purposes. Any Gems who in any way deviates from their roles, be it intentional or not, would be considered defective. Since the penalties for such actions are so severe, most disgruntled Homeworld Gems either keep their dissensions to themselves or are forced to go into hiding. Because there are so many of one type of Gem, all Homeworld Gems — except the Diamonds — distinguish themselves via coded serial numbers. Gem Ranking Diamonds WDGemstoneShapeByTheOffColors.png Yellow Diamond Gemstone.png Blue Diamond New Gemstone.png 2799ECDE-6B8F-4FBE-8B46-E40027C5E3B9.png The Diamonds are the highest-ranked caste similar to royalty and referred to as the "matriarchs" of Gem society; they make up the Great Diamond Authority. All Diamonds are of a massive size, towering over other types of Gems seen and even some fusions. They all have diamond-shaped pupils in their eyes. Almost all Homeworld Gems are fanatically loyal to the Diamonds, seeing as how Peridot 5XG formerly adored Yellow Diamond. Gems also appear to be categorized under their respective Diamonds as Blue Diamond referred to Sapphire as being "of her court" and Peridot saying she was "made" for Yellow Diamond. Any form of infidelity displayed towards the Diamonds is considered punishable by death at the worst. Their honorific (from their subordinates) is "My Diamond". There appears to be a caste ranking within the Diamonds themselves as White Diamond was shown to be hierarchically superior to the other Diamonds and the leader of the Authority. Conversely, Pink Diamond was below White, Yellow and Blue Diamond and had to obey their orders. *White Diamond - First truly appearing in "Legs From Here to Homeworld", she is the leader of the Diamond Authority. *Yellow Diamond - First truly appearing in "Message Received", she is the commander-in-chief of Homeworld's military. *Blue Diamond - First truly appearing in "Steven's Dream", she is the overseer of Homeworld's diplomacy. *Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz - Mentioned in "Earthlings" and first truly appearing in "Jungle Moon", she was the leader of Earth's colonization before being allegedly shattered at the hands of a Rose Quartz during the Rebellion. In reality, she took the identity of a Rose Quartz and staged her death in hopes of removing Homeworld's presence on Earth. **Steven Universe - A human-Gem hybrid and current member of the Crystal Gems. He inherited the gemstone of his mother Pink Diamond. Aquamarines Aquamarine Gemstone.PNG According to Pearl (as well as Aquamarine's own gloating), Aquamarines seem to have a high rank in Homeworld's hierarchy. Rebecca Sugar says that Aquamarines are one of the very high-ranked blue Gems on Homeworld.https://twitter.com/cartoonnetwork/status/863839112872198145 *Aquamarine - An Aquamarine sent to Earth as a bounty hunter by the Diamonds in order to retrieve different human "variations" for display in Pink Diamond's Zoo. *Homeworld Aquamarines - A group of Aquamarines seen celebrating the return of the Diamonds in "Legs From Here to Homeworld" and attending the "Era 3 Ball" in "Together Alone", opening the entrance veils for the Diamonds. Topazes Topaz Gemstone by Perimarine.png Topazes' roles seem to be that of soldiers, obeying orders and acting as bodyguards for their assigned Gem. A fusion of two Topazes was sent to Earth by the Diamonds to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo. These two Topazes are incredibly efficient at trapping and engulfing victims within their fusion. Topaz is especially proficient at this. Rebecca Sugar says that Topazes are a very high ranking Yellow Gems. However, they are not as highly ranked as Aquamarines. *Yellow Diamond's Topazes **Topazes (left and right) - Two Topazes sent to Earth by the Diamonds as a fusion in order to retrieve different "variations" of humans for Pink Diamond's Zoo. **Chamber Guards - Two Topazes who stand guard outside Yellow and Blue Diamond's Chambers. A pair of Topaz who guard Blue Diamond's Pool Chamber each wield a mace just like the Topaz fusion. Two of them return in "Change Your Mind" guarding the Bubble Chamber. **Bubble Chamber Guard - A Topaz who wield an axe and stand guard outside Yellow Diamond's Bubble Chamber. *Blue Diamond's Topazes **Two Unknown Topazes - Two yellow-orange Topazes, one with her gemstone on her navel, the other with an unknown gemstone placement who surrounded Rose and Pearl before they escaped the Cloud Arena. Tourmalines Tourmalines are a group of scientist and research class gems. Bismuths Bismuth Gemstone.png Bismuths are a building caste in charge of constructing temples, spires, arenas and other structures for aristocratic members of Gem society on Homeworld's Gem colonies. As such, they possess a broad stature for intensive physical labor, above-average resistance to heat and damage and hands capable of fluidly changing form without the need for typical Gem shapeshifting to fit a wide variety of purposes. *Bismuth - One of the original Crystal Gems who was poofed and bubbled by Rose Quartz and later Steven when she developed a weapon devised to shatter Pink Diamond, unaware that Rose and Pink were one and the same. She permanently rejoined the team after "Made of Honor". *Unknown Bismuth - A Bismuth that appeared in a flashback in "Same Old World". She was the one who poofed Lapis Lazuli during the Rebellion. Lapis Lazulis LapisGem.png As stated by Yellow Diamond, Lapis Lazulis are made for terraforming. Peridot also said that Lapis Lazulis are typically partial to water and flying. It is unclear how high they rank in the caste system, though they seem at least equal to or higher than Peridots. The Lapis Lazulis' use for terraforming planets likely explains Lapis Lazuli's ability to manipulate massive bodies of water with ease (and possibly explains her enjoying farming). *Lapis Lazuli - A Lapis Lazuli who was trapped in a mirror for thousands of years and ultimately used by the Homeworld Gems for their invasion of Earth. She was eventually freed from the Mirror by Steven and is now a Crystal Gem. Peridots Peridot Gemstone.png Peridots serve mainly as technicians and Kindergarten, sometimes performing field assignments on other planets such as the Peridot who befriended Steven. Their exact role is currently unknown; however, they are higher than Pearls (but not high enough to have a Pearl of their own). Era 2 Peridots are given Limb Enhancers to compensate for their lack of abilities older Gems have due to the depletion of resources on Homeworld. One Peridot so far has been shown to have telekinetic control-abilities over metallic objects. *Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG – A former Yellow Diamond court member and current member of the Crystal Gems. *"Squaridot" - A subordinate of Hessonite who appears in Save the Light, nicknamed "Squaridot" for her square hair. She is currently bubbled. Emeralds Emerald Gemstone.png Emeralds are high-ranking Gems with authority. In the Steven Universe Podcast, Rebecca Sugar and Ian Jones-Quartey emphasize that Emeralds (specifically the one seen in "Lars of the Stars") are elite Gems known to be in charge of fleets.[1] The only Emerald shown owns three ships (her own personal shuttle, the Sun Incinerator and Destiny Destroyer) and is in charge of an unspecified amount of Gems. *Emerald - An Emerald whose ship was stolen by Lars Barriga and the Off Colors, who she has been following ever since in her imperial warship to reclaim her most prized starship from them. Rubies Ruby Gemstone.png Rubies are another type of soldier caste. Garnet describes them as "common", seeing as they are all originally identical to one another. They appear to be used as personal escorts and bodyguards for high-ranking Gems. Seeing as they are so numerous, inferred from Ruby's comment of there being "tons" of her, Rubies are considered somewhat unimportant and highly expendable grunts, though they compensate by fusing together into bigger constructs of themselves. Rubies are also sent to different planets to seek out specific Gems. As Rubies are merely common soldiers they are not very intelligent, having been easily fooled by Steven's claims that Jasper was on Neptune and Amethyst's obvious disguise as Jasper and according to Holly Blue Agate are seen as being incompetent or irresponsible. In the Steven Universe Podcast, Rebecca says the Rubies' main strength on Homeworld is their ability to combine; a Ruby would never be sent alone to do anything. Rubies are not supposed to have different personalities; the fact that they do "flies under the radar" because they act serious around higher-ranking Gems.[5] *Ruby - A Ruby that remains fused with Sapphire as Garnet, a current member of the Crystal Gems. *Ruby (right shoulder gem) - A known Ruby that used to protect Sapphire as shown in "The Answer". *Ruby (hand gem) - A known Ruby that used to protect Sapphire as shown in "The Answer". *Ruby-1F4 Cut-4ND ("Eyeball") - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper, another veteran of the Gem war on Earth; a witness who testified against Steven in his trial. *"Army" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper. *"Navy" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper, who would later steal the Roaming Eye after deceiving the Crystal Gems. *"Leggy" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper. *"Doc" - A known Ruby sent to retrieve Jasper and the leader of the "Ruby Squad". *Rhodonite's unknown component Ruby - A Ruby who used to work for a Morganite before being replaced. *Homeworld Rubies - Various Rubies who attended the "Era 3 Ball". Quartzes Quartzes are a soldier caste. Made to fit the role of an elite warrior, Quartzes have incredible height, broad shoulders, and an intimidating muscular build. Rose Quartz and Jasper both fit this description. Amethyst is also a Quartz, although she does not fit the description because she "stayed in the ground too long", and was, therefore, overcooked. Some Quartzes are used as bodyguards and escorts, as shown by Jasper. They appear to be less numerous than Rubies. According to Ian Jones-Quartey, some have defensive powers as well (like Rose's) since "they can't all be tanks". Quartzes were described to be "huge, loyal soldiers". Jasper states that Quartzes are made to fight and that Jaspers, specifically, always get what they want. Some Quartzes also act as guards at Homeworld outposts, such as Pink Diamond's Zoo. Quartz is the largest known Gem type with Gems including Amethysts, Carnelians, Jaspers, and Rose Quartzes. Agates Holly Blue Agate Gemstone.png So far, Holly Blue Agate is the only Agate shown in the show. She is in charge of a group of Quartz soldiers and manages Pink Diamond's Zoo. Quartzes of her type seem to have a higher ranking than standard "made-for-battle" ones. Their purpose seems to be administrative in nature. Yellow Diamond states in "What's the Use of Feeling (Blue)?" that they are meant to be terrifying figures that intimidate Gems under them into obedience. In "The Trial", it is revealed that they can also be bodyguards for high-ranking Gems, such as a Diamond. It can be assumed that, based on the way Holly Blue Agate acts around Sapphire, that Agates, while having some authority, are not very high-ranking Gems, or at least not as highly ranked as Sapphires. *Holly Blue Agate - An Agate who manages Pink Diamond's Zoo. *"Crazy Lace" - An Agate who was originally a member of the Crystal Gems. *Pink Diamond's Agates - Agates who used to belong to Pink Diamond, they were her bodyguards during the Rebellion, first mentioned by Blue Zircon in "The Trial". *Yellow Diamond's Agates - Agates who reside in one of Yellow Diamond's Asteroid Mines and first mentioned by Rhodonite in "Your Mother and Mine". Citrines Citrines are Quartz Gems who seem to be an elite caste of guards and serve high-ranking Gems. *Citrines - A group of sixty-seven elite Citrines who are mentioned to have guarded Emerald's ship, the Sun Incinerator, on the planet Klavius 7. *Hessonite's Citrine Guards - A group of Citrines who act as guards on Hessonite's warship. They are only heard by the Crystal Gems before their final confrontation with Hessonite. They appear in Save the Light. Rose Quartzes Rose Quartz Gemstone.png Rose Quartzes are new compared to other gems, having been created by Pink Diamond on Earth. Sometime between the start of Rose Quartz's rebellion and Pink Diamond's shattering, every Rose Quartz in existence was bubbled. They currently all reside in Pink Diamond's Chamber in her Zoo. It was stated in "That Will Be All" that Blue Diamond wished to keep the Rose Quartzes around for the sake of preserving Pink Diamond's legacy while Yellow Diamond wanted every Rose Quartz be shattered as they believed one of them was responsible for the start of the Rebellion and shattering of Pink Diamond, although this is not the actual truth. While being Quartz soldiers, Rose Quartzes are known for their defensive powers rather than the average offensive abilities Quartzes have. *Bubbled Rose Quartzes - A large collection of hundreds of Rose Quartzes, inactive and bubbled by the Diamonds after a Rose Quartz allegedly shattered Pink Diamond. Rutiles Rutile gemstone sun incinerator palette.png Not much is known about Rutiles, though they seem to have piloting capabilities. *Rutile Twins - A Rutile whose gemstone incubated incorrectly and formed with two upper bodies with separate personalities. *Other Rutiles - The Rutiles that ran away after the Rutile Twins emerged. Pearls YellowDiamondPearl.png PinkPearlGemstone by LoveSeal990.png Pearl Gemstone New.png Blue Pearl Gemstone fix.png Pearls are a servant caste, described by Peridot as being "someone's shiny toy." They are expected only to serve and be submissive and obedient, simply waiting on their owners and not acting independently in any way. Pearls typically fulfill tasks such as holding their owners' belongings and serving as footpeople opening doors for their masters; they are expected to consistently exhibit subservience by remaining silent unless spoken to and remaining a few paces behind their superior when walking with them. There are exceptions to these rules depending on who the Pearls belong to, such as those of the Diamonds. Yellow Pearl is able to get away with talking down to gems higher in the caste system whenever she feels they would disturb Yellow Diamond, and clearly relishes the opportunity to do so. White Pearl is apparently seen (and feared) as an extension of White Diamond's will, making even the other Diamonds tread lightly in her presence. Pearls also provide simple luxuries like singing, dancing and visual entertainment by projecting holograms. They are also status symbols on Homeworld reserved for higher castes such as the Diamonds and aristocrats like Sapphires, as Peridot comments that the idea of a Peridot owning a Pearl is ridiculous. Pearls may also be earned by committing a significant act of heroism. Physically, all Pearls appear to have a slender form and beak-like nose. They can also be "customized" by owners in color and appearance. Pearls are normally dismissed with the phrase "That will be all" generally followed by the owner clapping her hands twice when they are no longer needed. *Pearl - A renegade Pearl and the sole confidant of Pink Diamond, later known as Rose Quartz. She is a current member of the Crystal Gems. *Blue Pearl - A Pearl that serves Blue Diamond. *Yellow Pearl - A Pearl that serves Yellow Diamond, acting as her receptionist and screening calls for her. *Pink Pearl - A Pearl that served White Diamond. She once served Pink Diamond and was known as "Pink Pearl". *Rhodonite's unknown component Pearl - A Pearl who used to belong to and serve a Morganite before being replaced. *Homeworld Pearls - Pearls who were chased up and down the halls by alien worms Pink Diamond brought to a past ball. Pebbles Pebble Nose Gemstone.png Pebble Head Gemstone.png Pebble Hand Gemstone.png Pebble Foot Gemstone.png Pebble Eye Gemstone.png Pebble Chest Gemstone.png Pebble Back Head Gemstone.png Pebbles act as servants in Homeworld's Caste System. They have building and sewing skills that are enough to fulfill their different tasks. *Pink Diamond's Pebbles - A group of Pebbles created by Pink Diamond. They reside inside the walls and floor of Pink Diamond's palace. Unknown Roles DGlassGemJirach23.png Identified Gems that lack a known Gem type or role. *Desert Glass - A corrupted Gem with the ability to create structures out of sand. She is currently bubbled in the Burning Room. *Watermelon Tourmaline - A corrupted Gem with the ability to create strong gales with her breath. She is currently bubbled in the Burning Room. *"Snowflake" - A former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Bismuth". She may be a Snowflake Obsidian, which is a type of volcanic glass. *Larimar - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor" nicknamed "Little Larimar" and currently bubbled in the Burning Room. *Beryl - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor" currently bubbled in the Burning Room. Since aquamarine, emerald and morganite are types of beryl in real life, Beryl may have had a high ranking in Homeworld society. *Serpentine - A corrupted former Crystal Gem mentioned by Bismuth in "Made of Honor" currently bubbled in the Burning Room. Fusion Gems Fusions (or specifically Same-Gem Fusion) are used as weapons in the caste. They are used in times of war, seen as objects rather than their own beings. A fusion outside of battle is considered highly inappropriate and extremely unorthodox, being regarded as disgusting, embarrassing or discomforting to behold (as inferred from Jasper and Peridot's reactions towards Garnet). However, the existence of Topaz reveals that, despite Peridots and Jaspers prejudice, fusion outside of battle is indeed legal on Homeworld providing the fusion is same-gem and may only be allowed for certain Gem castes (e.g. soldiers). To a further extent, only fusions of the same type are seen as acceptable (such as a fusion consisting of several Rubies or several Topazes). Fusion between Gems of different varieties is considered more of an abnormality in Gem society, as the Gem diplomats of Blue Diamond's Court in "The Answer" refer to Garnet's fusion as "disgusting" and "unheard of". As another example, Rhodonite and Fluorite, two "off color" fusions of different Gem types, were cast out from Homeworld's society and forced to hide to avoid being shattered. Rhodonite's components were replaced by her commander, Morganite after she found out that they liked to fuse. Defective Gems Gems that are defective (also referred to as "off-color") serve no use to the Gem empire and are cast out from society. If caught, these Gems are shattered. The only known exceptions to this are the Quartz soldiers stationed at Pink Diamond's Zoo who were kept in service by Blue Diamond due to previously belonging to Pink Diamond. Corrupted Gems Corrupted Gems, also known as Gem Monsters are Gems who have become "corrupted", assuming a monstrous form. One of the main objectives of the Crystal Gems (other than their protection of humanity) is to defeat and contain the Corrupted Gems and hopefully cure them.Ocean Gem These types of Gems do not exist on Homeworld and as such have no place in Gem society. References